[ENGL 551] Contemporary World Literature

Course Title: Contemporary World Literature

Course Description

This course introduces students to the world literature produced across the globe in the last quarter of the twentieth century. Fosters students' ability to analyze and interpret literary texts written in diverse literary, social, cultural, and historical contexts.

Learning Outcomes

Upon successful completion of this course, students will be able to:

• Familiarize themselves with world literature produced across cultures and regions.
• Retrace unique historical and cultural contexts of world literature.
• Analyze and interpret literary texts from diverse locations with varied cultures and socio-political backgrounds.

Course Contents

Unit I: Origin and Evolution (9 Hours)

1. "Naming World Literature" from A History of World Literature (pp. 5-27)
2. "Mapping World Literature" from The Routledge Companion (pp. 363-70)
3. "Contemporary World Literature" from The Norton Anthology (pp. 1271-77)

Unit II: The Americas: Loss, Memory, and Resistance (9 Hours)

1. "World Literature and Latin American Literature" from Routledge Companion
2. Eden Robinson: "Queen of the North"
3. Sherman Alexie: "The Powwow at the End of the Earth"
4. Isabel Allende: "And of Clay Are We Created"
5. Jamaica Kincaid: A Small Place

Unit III: Africa and the Middle East: History, Displacement, and Liberation (12 Hours)

1. "African Angels on World Literature" from Routledge Companion (pp. 416–24)
2. "The World of Arabic Literature" from Routledge Companion (pp. 407–15)
3. Abdulrazak Gurnah: By the Sea
4. Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie: "The Thing Around Your Neck"
5. Warsan Shire: "Home"
6. Mosab Abu Toha: "We Deserve a Better Death"
7. Samar Yazbek: A Woman in the Crossfire (first three entries)
8. Hassan Blasim: "The Corpse Exhibition"

Unit IV: Asia: Society, Memory, and Transforming World (12 Hours)

1. "World Literature and East Asian Literatures" from Routledge Companion (pp. 425–33)
2. "South Asia" from Handbook of Anglophone World Literature (pp. 471–79)
3. Mohsin Hamid: Exit West
4. Jean Tay: Boom
5. Amitav Ghosh: "Going Back" from In an Antique Land
6. Mo Yan: "The Old Gun"
7. Sayaka Murata: "A Clean Marriage"
8. Nguyen Huy Thiep: "The Water Nymph"

Unit V: Oceania and Archipelagic Imaginaries (6 Hours)

1. "The Oceans" from Handbook of Anglophone World Literature (pp.375–93)
2. Anita Heiss: "Making Aborigines"
3. Witi Ihimaera: The Whale Rider
4. Craig Santos Perez: "Praise Song for Oceania"

Evaluation Scheme

Internal Evaluation

External Examination

Prescribed Text

D'haen, Theo. A History of World Literature. Routledge, 2024.
Puncher, Martin, ed. The Norton Anthology of World Literature. Shorter 4th ed., vol. 2, 2018.